“Hakeem Butler — for sure,” Lazard said when I asked who could be the next Allen Lazard. “He’s got more potential than probably I did. He just has to bring it every single day and be the man.”

The Man, all 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds of him, will be a junior when Iowa State opens the season Sept. 1 at home against South Dakota State. And if The Man plays a senior season, he could land among the school’s top five in many career receiver categories — including biggies such as receptions, yards and touchdowns.

Not bad for a guy who caught just nine passes during his freshman season in 2016.

"He was probably our most explosive player,” receivers coach Bryan Gasser said. “He may not look fast, but he can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. He can cover 10 yards pretty quickly.

“He’s a sneaky fast guy. He’s a smooth runner; a loose runner.”

He showed all of that while abusing Baylor’s secondary on one play during a 23-13 win in Waco, with a ridiculous one-handed catch that resulted in a 67-yard touchdown.

The catch, with an overmatched defender hanging on his right arm, would have by itself been highlight-reel material. What made the pass from Zeb Noland more highlight-worthy was what Butler did after the catch — the way he eluded defenseless defenders over the final 23 yards of his amazing play.

The next Lazard?

It’s that big-play potential — his catch-and-run plays of 74, 67, 57 and 52 yards — that sets him apart. Those were four of Iowa State’s six plays from scrimmage last season that exceeded 50 yards.

“He can go up and get it against anyone,” Lazard said. “And then with his speed ...”

Butler is more of a deep threat, one of the best the Big 12 Conference will have next season. He’s got huge hands. Throw up a contested pass, and I’ll take Butler every time.

“My speed creeps up on people because of my (long) strides,” Butler went on.

Inside or outside — it’s a good dilemma to have. It’s what Butler’s spring practice is about.

“First and foremost with Hakeem, we have to figure out what his role’s going to be,” Gasser said. “Are we going to play him like we did last year on the inside, or are we going to play him on the outside?”

Maybe he’ll play both.

“We’re trying to figure that out,” Butler said. “We all saw what I can do from the slot.”

To be fair, Lazard was so good that he often drew double-teams. Someone was left open, or in simple man-to-man coverage.

Most of the time, that person was Butler.

“It’s different without Allen,” Butler said. “At the same time, we all knew he was on his way out and onto better things.

“I was preparing for this last year.”

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson has been with the Register for parts of five decades. Randy writes opinion and analysis of Iowa State football and basketball. You can reach Randy at rpeterson@dmreg.com or on Twitter at @RandyPete.